342 VOYAGE IN SEARCH 



wore a long beard; he was employed in cooking 

 in a large earthen vefTel fome whelks which he 

 had jufl picked up at low water, at the foot ofr 

 the mangroves near his dwelling. This refpecl- 

 able old man, far from being furprifed at my 

 vilit, invited me to partake of his rcpaft. A long 

 prickle detached from the petiole of a fago-palm 

 leaf was immediately prefented to me, and I fol- 

 lowed the example of my hofl in making ufe of 

 it to take out of the fhcll the flefh of the whelks, 

 which he had prefented to me on a plantain-leaf. 



The helpmate of this old man joined him 

 fhortly after, and I fhould have .been very much 

 furprifed at the prodigious difference of age be- 

 tween them, had I not been aware that thefe 

 i (landers place their happinefs in marrying very 

 young girls. The ir countenance becomes pecu- 

 liarly animated whenever they fpeak of a }oung 

 woman (in Malay paranpouang ttiouda) ; and on 

 the other hand, it is really laughable to fee 

 tne horrible grimaces which diftort all their fea- 

 tures when they talk of an old woman (pa: 



uang t-jiui). 



I ( -i idea vou red to make this worthy old man 

 fenfiblc how very unw holcibme it was to live fo 



ar the ;, ..-s, where the ftagnant waters 



-ion him dangerous di (orders. It was 







to no that 1 endeavoured to perfuadc 



i to build another houlc on a more elevated 



fpot : 



